It was a turf of the Congress— and yet, Narendra Modi-led BJP has emerged as the biggest party in Karnataka. Perhaps, Narendra Modi realised early on the potential of his popularity and increased the number of election rallies from 15 to over 21.
Even as the magic 112-mark seems to be eluding Modi’s BJP at present, and a coalition between JD(S) and Congress is on the cards to form the government, the Modi magic continues to charm. From Uttar Pradesh to Tripura — the BJP has won major state elections as Narendra Modi the face of the party.
Why is it that the Modi magic continues even after four years? The answer is that 57% Indians still believe in Narendra Modi, even if they don’t stand behind him for his economic policies. What’s more interesting is that not only is he popular, his popularity is more polarised now.
A 1,75,000 votes-survey conducted by LocalCircles shows that a majority of Indians are happy with work of the Narendra Modi government in improving India’s image globally, handling of Pakistan, fighting terrorism, infrastructure development and reducing tax harassment.
82% Indians believe that India’s image and influence in the world have improved in the last four years; 74% believe that the government has handled Pakistan well; and 65% give thumbs up to the government for infrastructural development. These issues seem to overshadow other significant issues such as cost of living, employment, and the implementation of the GST, where the survey shows Narendra Modi has failed to impress.
54% Indians believe that Narendra Modi has not been able to create jobs, 67% believe that their local BJP MPs have not worked to fix local issues, 60% believe that the implementation of the GST has not brought down prices, 60% believe that the cost of living has not gone down in last four years, and 58% believe that the government has not been able to bring down the number of crimes against women and children.
Yet, a combined opinion reflect that a majority of Indians have faith in Narendra Modi. A total of 57% Indians said that the government has either met or exceeded their expectations in the last four years. What’s notable is that more Indians now believe that Narendra Modi has exceeded their expectations and fewer Indians believe that he has met their expectations. “This means that opinion about government performance is more polarised now,” LocalCircles said in the survey report.
